Turbine

As Ross is about to seal his adulthood with a signature on the contract of a multinational company, he loses himself in doubt. On a farm in desolate farmland, in the shade of a large wind turbine, he surrenders himself to the care of resident Selma. As Ross gradually starts forgetting his duties in reality, the idyll begins to take on the shape of a surreal nightmare.

  • Tjeerd Dam
    Director
  • Tjeerd Dam
    Writer
  • Robbin van Mechelen
    Producer
  • Lisa Hagenbeek
    Producer
  • Koen ter Braak
    Key Cast
    "Ross"
  • Roos Bottinga
    Key Cast
    "Selma"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Psychological Thriller, Surrealism, Absurdism, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    20 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 9, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    9,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Netherlands
  • Country of Filming:
    Netherlands
  • Language:
    Dutch
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Tjeerd Dam

Dutch director and screenwriter Tjeerd Dam (Swifterbant, 1998) grew up on a farm on the former seabed of the Zuiderzee, now called Flevoland. In 2020, he completed his studies in Political Science at the University of Amsterdam, after which he studied screenwriting at the Netherlands Film Academy.

Tjeerd's fascination with the human experience, combined with his rich imagination, drives him to create absurd and surreal narratives that touch on themes such as loneliness, existential dread, the power of imagination, and the search for love and security.

Humor is an essential element of Tjeerd's work, but he also delves into the darker sides of human nature. His empathy compels him to approach these themes with compassion and curiosity, even for those we least want to understand.

In 2024, Tjeerd directed his first film, "Turbine," shot on the farm where he grew up, amidst the wind turbines. These gigantic objects, with their hypnotic rotation, inspired a story about a young man entangled in his desire to be a child again.

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Director Statement

As a human being, I find myself living in two different worlds. The world of my thoughts, where reflection and imagination reign, and the concrete outer world, defined by relationships, human contact and responsibilities. My happiness depends on the balance between these two worlds.

When there is balance, I enjoy the safety and comfort of my thoughts and the pleasure I derive from my imagination. I am able to face the outer world, which I essentially view as unsafe, with courage. I discover time and again that this outer world and the interactions I have there fill me with energy, causing the feeling of insecurity to vanish.

When I am out of balance, I feel threatened by the outer world. The people, the expectations and the structures that force me to be something I am not. I languish in the swamp of my thoughts. The step to face the outer world becomes bigger and bigger. I sink into a loop of overthinking, and I must be careful not to lose sight of the way out.

Turbine is an expression of this personal experience, which I suspect is more broadly shared and recognizable for all those people who find themselves in the limbo between love and hate for the outside world and love and hate for their mind.

Protagonist Ross, like me, fundamentally experiences the outer world as an unsafe place. Even more now, as he's about to sign a multinational company’s contract to meet society's expectations. In exactly that moment, Ross escapes to his inner world. A place of comfort and safety, but at the same time, a swamp that threatens to engulf him.

Even though for me personally, this is the heart of the film, I tried to write and direct it in a way that the meaning of Turbine is in the eye of the beholder. The abstractions, contrasts and tropes I use are meant to trigger the viewer to indulge and experience the film in an active way. For me, that’s when cinema is working at its best.